Lewis Hamilton has been slammed once again for his hypocrisy after he continues to raise concerns about the current F1 rules as Red Bull continues to dominate. The 38-year-old has explained on several occasions how the current rules are not fair, as they allow for the domination of one team. And just as Hamilton made these remarks, former F1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya has slammed him for ignoring his period of dominance during the turbo-hybrid era (2014-21) when he won six of his seven world championships with Mercedes.
Hamilton had recently told Sky Sports television (as quoted by espn.in.) that the FIA should modify their rules to prevent one team from having long periods of domination. The Briton suggested that the FIA can probably set a time when the team are permitted to start working on next year’s car.
He explained his point by using the example of Red Bull. Hamilton stated that since Red Bull are cruising to the Constructors’ Championship this season, they have the privilege of starting on next year’s car much earlier as compared to their rivals.
As expected, Verstappen was not happy with Hamilton’s remarks. The Dutchman replied to the Briton’s remarks in a presser by stating (as quoted by espnin.), “Life is unfair as well. It’s not only F1. A lot of things in life are unfair so we just have to deal with it“.
Verstappen was not done adding salt to the wounds of Hamilton as in a later conversation with Sky Sports, he added, “We didn’t talk about that when he was winning everything“. And this is exactly the comment that Montoya made in a recent interview to slam Hamilton.
Montoya explains why Hamilton’s remarks are funny
After everything that Lewis Hamilton has said about F1 being unfair, Juan Pablo Montoya explained why he thinks that the Briton’s remarks are hilarious. As quoted by racingnews365.nl, the Colombian said on MyBettingSites, “He is already predicting that Max will also win next year, but if you look back at his period of dominance. Was it him or was it the car? We were all happy for him when he dominated“.
The 47-year-old then went on to laud Red Bull for their dominance despite the budget cap bringing teams closer. Montoya stated that Red Bull have to be appreciated as they are miles above the chasing pack. He believes that when it comes to the rest of the teams, the budget cap has worked, as fans have no idea who would finish between third and tenth.
Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes are thinking long-term
Since Mercedes are not in a position to fight Red Bull for the championship this season, Lewis Hamilton wants his team to focus on next year’s car. In a recent interview, he stated that he does not mind going winless for another season if they are in a position to fight for the world championship next year.
And if Mercedes are to fight for the title next season, they will have to take a massive step. The Silver Arrows are currently far behind Red Bull in terms of development and still seem to be struggling to figure out why the Milton Keynes outfit has been so dominant.
When it comes to this year, Mercedes will hope to win at least one race to stop Red Bull’s invincibility. The Milton Keynes outfit have already won all 10 races of this season and seems to be in a position where they can think about winning all the races of the season. Only time will tell if they are able to achieve that kind of dominance, with still more than half of the 2023 season still remaining.
